Through the End of Time
by sirens call universe
Summary: Carmen had always stood by her siblings sides, no matter what. No decision they made deterred her from giving them her full unconditional support. She only wished that she could live up to their image. To be a sibling they could be proud of. The Mass Effect series through the eyes of Shepard's little sister.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. This belongs to the Mass Effect creators and all their glory.**

"Dr. Chakwas, is that enough medi-gel for our dispenser, if not I can call in for supplies over the intercom," Carmen said while overlooking the medical bay storage area.

Dr. Chakwas took a step backwards and scanned the shelves upon shelves of medical equipment and supplies. Everything was in pristiene order, just how both women liked it. The doctor signed Carmen's databoard as they finally finished the grueling task of inventory check. Now that their busy work was done, the Alliance soldiers had their full undivided attention.

"I believe everything is in order. Inventory is the worst part of this profession don't you think, Dr. Shepard-Anderson," Dr. Chakwas commented.

Carmen grinned at the title.

_Dr. Shepard- Anderson. Has a nice ring to it_ she thought happily.

Unfortunately, it was too soon for titles just yet.

"Good ol penacilin comes in handy if run out of anything," she said while holding out the pill bottle of dated medicine. She hoisted herself up on stool before continuing" I think that title is a bit premature, Dr. Chakwas. I still have to take the test," Carmen laughed.

"You're a doctor already. That just makes it official,"

Carmen placed her databoard on the desk beside her before responding, "It's all about officialness and structure, doctor. Just like mom use to say, 'Can't use the bathroom around here without saluting your superiors, first,"

"How's your mother? I heard she had a promotion,"

Carmen nodded"She's doing fine. I believe was transferred to Hackett's fleet, I think. I- Captain Anderson" Carmen saluted the man as he walked.

The tall man returned her salute before turning to Dr. Chakwas. Carmen narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she thought of reasons why he was here. The rumor mill had been buzzing since her arrival. From the looks of her collegue, it was for good measure. Dr. Chakwas mouth was stretched into a wide grin as she eyed the two's resemblance. After all, it was the talk amongst the for weeks on end. Even Commander Shepard's name was spoken among the gossip.

"Excuse me, Dr. Chakwas, I need to debrief Miss Shepard-Anderson in private, " Captain Anderson said.

Carmen gave him a look, but said nothing in return. The doctor had to bite her tongue to supress her laughter.

"Of course, Captain Anderson," she replied as she left the medical bay.

Once the automatic door closed behind the doctor, Anderson spoke, "Carmen, I don't want to remind you on how many strings I had to pull with my superiors for them to allow all of us to stay on this ship. I hope you understand that ,"

Carmen crossed her arms, "Daddy, I know the drill. It's Captain Anderson at all times in the presence of officers. I'm to call Johnny Commander Shepard with no casual remarks exchanged between us on duty," she smiled widely before hugging her father, "I went to the same Academy as you, mom, Johnny, and Esmeralda. I know "military etiquette"," she teased while quoting the last phrase with her best military voice.

Her father sighed, "You are all your mother. Pushing the limits of protocal and regulation,"

"It's called having fun and letting loose," she saw his face twitch slightly and laughed, "Don't worry, Daddy, I won't mess this up for you. I-," she paused for a moment before continuing,"I won't embarrass you again," she said quietly.

Captain Anderson sensed his daughter's shame and pulled her into a hug. He kissed her head softly and pushed his cheek against it. It was times like these he shed his firm demeanor for Carmen's sake. He never could resist comforting her in her sadness, no matter how much he wanted to harden her. Those brown eyes of hers had him wrapped around her finger from the day she was born.

"You didn't embarrass me. You did what you could, and that's all anyone could ask for," he replied.

Carmen held onto him tighter. She wanted to become something he can be proud of. Something to shine in his legacy. His unnerving and bright legacy.

"Thanks, Daddy," was all she could say.

"I better get back to the comm room. If you need anything-"

"I know where to find you," Carmen finished.

Captain Anderson gave her one more hug before leaving. However, soon after, Commander Johnathan Rafael Shepard entered the medical bay. He looked behind him to make sure no one was following him before walking to Carmen.

"Well today is just full of family visits. I wonder if mom, or Esmeralda will walk through the sliding door next," she joked.

He rolled his eyes, "Glad to see you're settling in. I just saw your dad walk out of here. Was he giving you the run down?" he asked.

"Oh Johnny, this is David Anderson we're talking about. He most definitely gave me the run down. Appearances and all that," she responded while flipping through a medical catalogue.

"He's only doing what's best. The Alliance nearly fainted when they realized that three family members were on the same ship. Captain Anderson has to make them understand there no"favoritism","

"I know. Remember? Same Academy. Besides, I earned my way here. No one gave me this position. I fought hard for it," Carmen reasoned.

"And you won it fair and square. You know we're all," he stopped once he heard Carmen's wheezing and shallow breaths.

Johnny heard her failed muffled attempts to speak. Her breaths turned short, and strained. These were sounds Johnny hadn't heard come from since they were kids.

Carmen's hands shook violently at the onslaught. It had been so many years since it had been this bad. She attempted to stop the shaking by grabbing her arm, but it continued still. Knowing what could happen if this kept going, Carmen quickly opened an overhead compartment and grabbed a small arensol can. Carmen sprayed it's contents into the air and inhaled it. Moments later, her breathing regulated, but the only lessened and did not stop completely. She reluctantly turned to face her brother.

_Not the talk again. He nearly chewed my ear off the last time._

Carmen made it a point to calm Johnny's worry, "Johnny,I'm fine, really. It just flared up, but I'm fine now,"

Johnny shook his head, "You're fine now? You're fine and feel cold as death. You're fine and you could barely breathe a moment ago. I don't believe you. You're still shaking! If mom were here she would've taken you to the hospital. You look sick, how can you say you're fine, Carmen," he emphasized his last point.

Carmen placed her hands on his shoulders, "I'm fine really. I got to the medicine in time, and you know it takes at least in hour to tone down the symptons. You don't need to worry about me, you have enough on your plate," she stared at the bags under his eyes, and her brows furrowed in concern, "You're having bad dreams again,aren't you?," she asked softly.

Johnny didn't need to answer because Carmen took his silence as a yes. She pulled him into a hug, and rubbed his back. Carmen wished Johnny didn't have to endure his mine. To fight against it. She was forced to watch him suffer in silence as others waved him off as a survivor. It was the ultimate punishment.

"It's like I'm back there," Johnny whispered.

Carmen squeezed him tighter, "Nothing that happened back there is your fault. These dreams will come and go, but remember, " she pulled away and took his hands in hers, "I'm always here for you, no matter . You were there for me when I sick, now let me take care of you,"

He smiled faintly, "Alright. Thank you, Carmen. I'll be okay.,"

She knew he was lying, but if she pressed the matter further, he would only deny it. Carmen settled for his lie...for now.

"That's what little sisters are for. So get some sleep, almost doctor's orders," she joked.

Johnny laughed, "After the mission. I'm needed on the bridge. Hopefully that Spectre isn't following me. It seems like I'm always bumping into him when I turn around,"

"You'd make a good spectre," Carmen thought loud.

"Yeah well, they haven't accepted a human in their ranks yet, and probably won't for a while," Johnny shrugged.

"You'd be surprised, Johnny. You'd be surprised at what can happen,"

**Hello Mass Effect readers! This is my first story for the Mass Effect Universe, so I hope the start isn't too bad.**

**Anyways, as you can tell, this is a slight AU. My oc, Carmen Yvette Shepard-Anderson, is the half- sister of the PC (in this case it's Johnny). She is the daughter of David Anderson and Hannah Shepard. From the prologue, you can see that she is in the midst of becoming a doctor. I will sprinkle in tibits of her backstory and family memories along the way.  
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**Reviews ,as well as criticism, always make me happy! So don't be shy to let me know when you like something or if you think I need to edit some lore or stuff like that. **

**As always, thank you for reading!**


	2. The Sickness of Life

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

Carmen went to speak to Joker on the bridge shortly after the ground team touched down on Eden Prime. She tried to concentrate on other tasks to avoid thinking about the danger Johnny was in after the message intercepted from Eden Prime. She only hoped nothing would happen to him.

She saluted Alliance officers as she made her way to the cockpit, remembering her father's reminder from earlier. She approached the pilot with proper etiquette and military procedure.

_Cross your t's and dot your i's, Carmen. Or else you will hear the wrath of David Anderson.  
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"All right, Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, I have some questions to ask concerning your treatment, if you don't mind," she asked while looking down at her datapad.

The pilot shifted slightly in his seat and gave her a look that could only be described as self preservation. When Carmen looked up, she raised an eyebrow at Joker's sudden defensiveness.

"Okay, I can see where this is going. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Dr. Chakwas. The Normandy wants me as it's pilot. I'm not good, I'm not even great. I'm the best the best damn helmsman in the Alliance fleet. I was top of my class in flight school: I earned that. All those commendations in my file: I earned every single one. Those weren't given to me. If i didn't ask for sick leave then, I'm sure as hell not going to ask for it now. So no, I don't need to "relax" and come to the med bay whenever I turn the wrong way," he protested Carmen's unanswered question.

_Turn the wrong way...oh. He thinks I'm talking about brittle bone disease. Interesting...didn't think he was sick._

Carmen bit back a laugh to his defense, "Um...that's good to know Joker. However, I actually came to ask you if the cough medicine we prescribed three days ago was working. You know: for a follow up," she responded with a smile.

Joker's face fell slightly with the realization of Carmen's questioning, "You mean you didn't know?" he sighed, "Oh crap. Okay I have-"

"Vrolik's syndrome, more commonly known as brittle bone disease. Lack of collagen production causes the bones in the body to break or fracture from even the simplest activities. As a result, splints or metal rods are drilled into the bone during early childhood to reduce the number of bone related accidents in addition to keeping the bone straight," Carmen explained.

"Uh. Yeah well, even with my crutches and leg braces, one wrong step and my bones can shatter. Besides, I've learned to manage my condition. So you don't need to be coming here to check up on me every thirty seconds,"

Carmen nodded in agreement, "Of course. Sorry for the confusion. However, as a medically compromised individual like yourself, I understand not wanting people to be looking over my shoulder all the time,"

"You're sick?"

"Yup-I mean, yes I am," Carmen corrected.

"With what? You look like a poster girl for the medical schools. Not that I'm hitting on you or anything. Anderson and Shepard would kill me,"

Carmen smiled. That was a first.

She sat in the empty seat next to Joker, "Well, in addition to having an extremely delicate and fragile immune system, which I take shots every morning to bolster it and to avoid dying prematurely, I'm also an asthmatic. Oh yes, I know exactly where you're coming from,"

Joker smirked, "So...aren't you a little young to be a doctor,"

"Graduated..," Carmen thought of all the grades she skipped before continuing, "Well, I graduated everything sorta early. Having little to no friends in addition to infecting the entire school yard with the flu in the third grade made it easy to get ahead,"

He laughed,"So you took them out all in one shot?"

"Yeah. You can say that. After that, I wasn't exactly Miss Popular. I think they began calling me, Carmy Swarmy afterwords. Now that I think about it, I'm not exactly sure why they picked that one. Doesn't really make sense, " she shrugged.

"At least mine's makes more sense than yours. So you're telling me that you," he glanced at her up and down, "didn't have many friends,"

The flash of a braces wearing, spectacle donning 14 yr old with numerous skin problems came into Carmen's mind. How much things had changed.

"Well, I was younger than most kids in my grade. No one wants to be seen with the baby of the grade. Also...I was a bit awkward growing up,"

"You don't seem that bad to me," Joker replied.

Carmen laughed, "Well, I had years to practice my social skills in med school. It also helps when you the great Johnathan and Esmeralda Shepard as your older siblings. Military award dinners tend to have that affect,"

They spoke a little longer before Dr. Chakwas sent some for her. Carmen gathered her things, but before she left, she smiled at Joker.

On her way to the med bay, she overheard officers talking about an artifact on Eden Prime. That it was this artifact they came all that way for. In addition that this was Johnny's first test to becoming a Spectre. Carmen clutched her datapad closely to her chest to hide her proud smile.

Her brother was a hero.

* * *

><p>"I'm worried Dr. Chakwas," Carmen said while pacing back and forth inside the med bay. She looked at the holographic clock, and frowned at the time, "They've been gone too long,"<p>

"You, young lady, need to relax or Commander Shepard will have one more thing to worry about when he returns from Eden Prime," Dr. Chakwas responded while typing. She noticed the change in Carmen's breathing, how it became subtly strained. The young woman should know better than to try to mask her illness from a professional.

Carmen hand shook slightly and she hid it from Chakwas' view, "He's my brother. How can I not worry? It was supposed to be a simple investigation and pick up," she replied.

Dr. Chakwas removed an arensol can from Carmen's compartment and tossed it to her. She couldn't hide anything from that woman. Just like Johnny.

It was an understandable situation, Dr. Chakwas' knew that. However, it was situations such as these that Carmen would need to familiarize herself with. It didn't do her any good to worry every time Johnathan went on a mission. Especially with her delicate health.

"Most things aren't that simple, especially on a mission such as ours. Making yourself sick isn't going to make this situation better. You have to relax and trust your brother's skills,"

Carmen nodded reluctantly before inhaling from the can. She waited for him to return safely. As Dr. Chakwas said, it was the only thing she could do. Put faith that her brother would make it out.

They heard loud shouts outside the med bay and when the doors opened, Johnathan Rafael Shepard was splayed out on a gurney, unconscious. Carmen's heart dropped. It wasn't real. None of this should've been real. It was. A real life nightmare.

"JOHNNY!"

**R&R, please :) Thank you for reading!**


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